How to Brain Your Viking
by deepfathom
Summary: Even the bravest of dragon-riding Vikings can be prone to memory lapses. Especially when frozen-sock-covered rocks to the head are involved.
1. Part 1: Viking vs Ice

Part 1

Viking vs. Ice

He wasn't sure he could do this. In fact, he wasn't sure he even _wanted_ to. Tired and aching from a restless night full of fiery visions and strange pains in a limb no longer attached to him, Hiccup stood at the top of his front steps unable to move.

Wrapping his arms around himself and shivering, he looked out across the village buried in drift upon drift of white. Today was the first time in four days that Berk had seen the sun after a nasty winter storm. The air was clean, clear, and terribly cold and what wasn't covered in snow was solidified under a thick layer of ice.

_Perfect_, Hiccup thought bitterly. _Just when I was starting to get the hang of this peg-leg thing._

It had been several months since the encounter with the Red Death and, naturally, waking up to find he was minus body part had come as a big shock. Learning to walk again was only one of the many challenges he faced after that, but with practice, the support of his friends, his father, and especially Toothless, he'd been progressing well enough.

…Until now.

Now the gods had to haul off and complicate things. Again.

A heavy sigh escaped Hiccup's lips in a steamy puff as he rolled his eyes and wondered if he was forever doomed to be the punchline of some cosmic joke.

His thoughts were interrupted by the deep, throaty greeting-growl of a dragon. _His_ dragon. Hiccup's mood brightened a little as Toothless slid to a stop at the bottom of the steps.

"Hey bud! Where've you been all morning?"

Toothless's only response was a grin and a shake of his head before he turned a circle and sat back expectantly. The green orb-like eyes blinked once, twice, and Hiccup knew it was time to leave the safety of the front porch. There were important things to do, like perfecting aerial tricks and catching fish, for example, that couldn't wait.

"Alright, alright, I'm coming," Hiccup mumbled, scooting forward to the edge of the porch. It was just a few steps, but today, when encased in a solid sheet of ice, it looked more like certain death. Nevertheless, he steadied himself on his real foot and carefully placed the metal one down on the first stair.

"So far so good," he said after a few tense seconds.

The dragon burbled in agreement an and Hiccup decided it was safe enough to continue. But the moment he shifted all his weight onto the peg-leg was the very moment his day started going downhill.

"Oh no! Oh no—EEEYAH!" The metal was no match for the slick coating on the steps, and before he knew it, his legs went out from under him and he found himself on a quick but painful journey all the way to the bottom of the steps.

After a stunned moment or two flat on his back, Hiccup got around to wondering why Toothless hadn't caught him like he usually did whenever he took a spill. His answer came in the form of a startled growl from the dragon as Toothless's botched attempt at saving him came to an abrupt and not-so-graceful end right on top of him. Hiccup huffed as all the air in his lungs was forced out by the weight. Apparently dragons had trouble with ice as well.

Toothless's claws scraped the frozen ground as he scrambled to pick himself up.

Hiccup grunted. "Uuuggh! Man, am I ever glad you're not a Gronckle."

Toothless smacked his lips and rumbled an apology before bending his head down to help the boy sit upright.

"Thanks, bud," Hiccup said, brushing off some snow before rubbing the growing lump on the back of his head.

As a Viking living on the almost-always-frozen island of Berk, Hiccup was no stranger to getting around on ice. But things were different now and it looked as if he and Toothless had more urgent matters to take care of today than soaring through the clouds. After all, if the two of them could barely stand, how would they take off or land? Hiccup didn't want to think about that.

"Uh…maybe we should skip the flying for today, huh?"

Toothless groaned in reply. He'd been cooped up in the house for four days and it was no secret he was more than a little anxious to stretch his wings.

"I know, I know, I want to go too, but this is only the first ice storm of winter. I can't spend the next nine or ten months biffing it off the front porch every day…" he trailed off with a glance at his prosthetic. "I…I've gotta get used to this. So whaddaya say, bud? Think you can help me out?"

Toothless leaned forward to give Hiccup a gentle nudge with his nose, uttering a low, sympathetic rumble. He understood perfectly.


	2. Part 2: Sockey

Part 2

"Sockey"

"So, what is it?" Snotlout asked.

All but two of the teens of Berk were gathered in a clearing below a steep hill, squinting at something in Ruffnut's outstretched palm.

"Looks like a bunch of socks frozen together in some sort of disc shape," Tuffnut responded, leaning in for a closer look with a hand on his chin.

Ruffnut rolled her eyes. "That's because it _is_ a bunch of socks frozen together in a disc shape. We left'em outside before the storm hit to see if we could catch some trolls, remember?"

Tuffnut scratched his head. "Oh yeah. Yeah, I knew that. I was wondering why I couldn't find any socks for four days."

"And they froze completely solid like that?" continued Fishlegs.

Ruffnut nodded. "Yup. Found'em this morning right where we left them. Cool, huh?"

"Ha, 'cool' is right," Snotlout snorted, taking the solid sock-disc and turning it over in his hands.

"More like 'weird'," Fishlegs commented. "Did you catch any trolls?"

"Nah," replied Ruffnut. "But we made up a new game to play with it." She turned and galloped away through the snow in the direction of a small frozen pond.

Tuffnut followed, calling over his shoulder, "It's awesome because it involves running around and hitting stuff with sticks."

Snotlout shrugged before taking off after the twins. "Sounds like fun to me."

"Why does it always have to be 'hitting things' with those two?" sighed Fishlegs to himself.

A short run later, the four regrouped by the pond at the base of the hill. Its icy surface was white and smooth as polished glass: perfect for sliding.

Tuffnut took the disc from Snotlout and tossed it onto the pond where it skidded smoothly all the way to the other end with amazing speed.

"Whoa, nice!" Snotlout said, clearly impressed.

Fishlegs wasn't as excited. "That's your game? Sliding frozen socks across a pond?"

"Just wait," said Tuffnut, "it gets better. Ready, Ruff?"

"Yeah!" she cheered before launching herself out onto the pond, a curved stick now in her hands. She flew over the ice to the disc, and with a mighty whack of the stick, sent it zipping all the way back to land at the feet of the astonished Fishlegs and Snotlout.

The twins shared a high-five, crossed their arms and leaned into each other, snickering and looking smug.

"We call it 'Sockey'!" they said together.

"Hm," said Fishlegs, "For some reason, I'm not exactly sure that name's going to catch on. Maybe you should call it something else. Like maybe h—"

"Who cares what it's called?!" shouted Snotlout, grinning from ear to ear. "That's awesome! Gimme another stick, I wanna play too!"

Fishlegs hesitated. "Wait, aren't there any rules?"

"Pfft!" Snotlout snorted, waving him off and picking up a stick. "Rules schmules. All I know is you better watch out, 'cause I'm gonna send that sock thingy to the next island—HEY!"

In a blur of blond, the twins swooped out of nowhere and snatched the disc just as he reached down to pick it up. And so the game began.

Fishlegs remained on the bank. "Uh…you guys have fun. I think I'll just…stay here and…keep score."

No one was listening. Within seconds, the three young Vikings had raised enough chaos to wake all the souls in Valhalla. There would be bloodshed and probably a few missing teeth before the end. Fishlegs smiled a little, feeling relieved he'd chosen not to participate, and turned to leave them to it, but he only made it one step before he stopped at the sight of someone approaching.

He waved happily. "Astrid!"

Astrid labored through the snow, red-faced and puffing with the effort. She gave a small wave in reply before coming up beside him.

"Hey, Fishlegs," she gasped. "Have…have you seen Hiccup today?"

"No. He's probably flying with Toothless. Why?"

"Hm. I'm not sure he'd be out flying with all this ice. I mean, Stormfly can barely get around…" she trailed off, looking past Fishlegs' sturdy frame at the ruckus going on behind him. "Oh great. Did the twins make Snotlout angry again?"

"Uh, yes…I-I mean no. I mean, maybe. They invented a new game."

Astrid raised her eyebrows. "Wait, that's a _game_? Sounds more like a brawl to me."

"Well…yeah. Yeah, I'd say that's pretty accurate."

Astrid marched over to the edge of the pond. "Uh, guys? Guys! Could you stop for a second?"

The battle for the sock-disc raged on.

"GUYS!"

Finally, she'd had enough. Without skipping a beat, Astrid's axe came hurling through the air and embedded itself in the ice right between Snotlout and Ruffnut, narrowly missing the toes of their boots.

"Hey!" Snotlout protested. "What was that for? I was just about to—"

"Ooh, nice shot," said Ruffnut, eyes glinting with mischief. "You should do that again and see if you can get it any closer to my foot."

"Yeah, her toenails could really use a trim," Tuffnut put in.

Astrid stomped onto the ice, arms folded and jaw set. "Have any of you seen Hiccup today?" she asked, wrenching the axe out of the pond's solid surface.

"Uhhh, nope," said one twin.

"Haven't seen'im," said the other.

"Why d'you need him, anyway?" asked Snotlout.

"Well, I was going to ask him if—"

A shrill and startled cry from the crest of the hill ended that conversation right there. The teens glanced up to see something vaguely resembling a human shape plowing downward through the snow toward them at an alarming rate, yelping and squawking as it fell. Dumbfounded, they watched as the unfortunate individual crashed through the brambles on the bank of the pond and slid to a stop in a heap at their feet.

"Uuggh…" the human snowball moaned. "D-don't worry, I'll be fine…I think."

Astrid was the first to react. She rushed forward and dropped to her knees beside the newcomer, brushing as much of the snow away as she could. "Hiccup?! What're you—"

"Found'im," said Tuffnut.

"Um…" Hiccup sat up slowly and ruffled more snow out of his hair. "Hey, everybody. Just thought I'd…drop in and see what you're up to. Wow, is it cold or what? Everybody keeping warm out here? Heh…"

"Hiccup," Astrid repeated, "are you ok? What _was _that? What happened?"

"I was…practicing."

"Practicing?"

"Walking. On the, uh…on the ice. With the leg. Well, y'know…"

Astrid nodded in understanding and helped Hiccup to his feet, bringing one of his arms around her shoulders to steady him. "You slipped?"

Hiccup's face reddened a bit as he rolled his eyes. "Gee, how'd you ever guess that one?"

Astrid smiled, about to say something more, but was interrupted as another sizable avalanche on the side of the hill announced the arrival of Toothless. The dragon exploded out of the snow and leapt straight at group, scattering teenaged Vikings everywhere and nearly bowling Hiccup over.

"Whoa, whoa, Toothless," said Hiccup, smiling and detaching himself from Astrid to throw his arms around Toothless's neck. "I'm ok. Just took a little trip down the hill, that's all. Lucky this nice, rock-hard pond was here to break my fall, huh?"

The dragon was not very amused and uttered a concerned growl as he looked over his human from head to toe.

"I'm ok, bud. Really." Hiccup gave the dragon a reassuring pat on the muzzle.

"Alright, already," said Snotlout. "Enough with the mush. Can we get back to Sockey now?"

Hiccup exchanged a look with Astrid and bit back a snort. "'Sockey'?"

"Some new game the twins came up with, I guess," Astrid clarified.

"Yeah," Ruffnut added, "it's gonna make us famous. And all because our socks froze together in the storm."

Hiccup blinked at the disc. "Those…those are your socks?"

"Uh-huh," Tuffnut chimed in, gripping his Sockey stick. "Watch this."

"Tuffnut, wait!" Fishlegs lurched forward.

Tuffnut's stick whooshed through the air, making contact with the disc with a sharp crack. It shot into the air, but its lightning-quick journey was short lived. The mass of hardened socks whacked the wholly unprepared Hiccup in the forehead, the force of it sending him reeling a full 180 degrees before he dropped to the ice.


	3. Part 3: Hiccup Loses His Mind

Part 3

Hiccup Loses His Mind

Six pairs of eyes—five human and one reptilian—gaped in shock at Hiccup sprawled out on the ice in front of them. A nasty purplish lump was beginning to form above his right eye.

"Oops," said Tuffnut.

"AAAIIIEEEE!" Fishlegs squealed and grabbed at the tufts of yellow hair sticking out from under his helmet. "You killed Hiccup! You _killed_ the chief's only son! Ohhhh, this is bad! This is very, very bad! What're we gonna do? What're we gonna tell Stoick?"

Tuffnut dropped the stick quickly, as if no longer having it in his hands would clear him of all guilt.

"Does this mean I get to be chief when Stoick retires?"

"He's not dead!" Astrid rounded on him. "So no, you yak-brain, you don't' get to be chief!"

"What a relief," Snotlout grunted under his breath.

"He was like five feet away from you!" Astrid advanced several steps, emphasizing each of the last five words with a punch in Tuffnut's shoulder. "What were you _thinking_?!"

"Yeah, yak-brain," Ruffnut contributed a moderate slug of her own just for fun. "What were you thinking?"

"Um, is this a trick question? Because I don't—OW!" Tuffnut's final punishment came as a swat from Toothless's tail. The dragon threw him a deadly look as he moved in beside Hiccup. "It was an accident! I'll tell'im to duck next time, ok?"

"Hmmfzzrrgbh…" was Hiccup's only response to Toothless's pawing and nuzzling.

"There'd better not _be _a next time," Astrid huffed through gritted teeth, spinning around and kneeling down to join Toothless. "Somebody go find Gothi. And hurry!"

…

The young Vikings crowded into Hiccup's room and were quickly joined by the chief, Gobber, and Gothi, the village elder. Without delay, the tiny old woman laid out a bowl, clean bandages, and an assortment of strange-smelling herbs on the bedside table, undoubtedly in order to whip up one of her poultices.

Dust from the rafters rained down on them in accompaniment to the thump of an anxious dragon jumping around on the roof. Toothless had not been too keen on the idea of waiting outside while Gothi worked and was making his feelings very clear.

The only one who didn't seem to notice the incredible din was Hiccup. He was seated on the edge of his bed, awake and apparently having trouble focusing on any one thing in particular. His expression was confused if not a bit vague, but oddly content as he hummed an off-key version of a local village tune to himself.

Stoick crouched before his son, taking his face in his massive hands and examining him closely.

"Are you all right? Say something."

Hiccup blinked as if seeing him there for the first time. Then he winced. "Ow, ow, ow, owww, my head. Wow, that hurts!"

"No, no, I mean can you tell me what happened?"

"I…I don't…" Hiccup leaned forward and squinted with his eyebrows scrunched together. "You look weird."

"I've been tellin'im that for years," Gobber muttered, but the chief shot him a sharp look and his smile faded a little. "I mean…nice try, laddie. Better than nothin'."

Stoick released a heavy sigh and straightened to his full, intimidating height to face the others.

"I need to know what happened. Right now."

Before anyone could answer, Toothless raised a thundering fit of stomping and roaring, threatening to bring down the entire house.

"Quiet down up there, ya great gallopin' beast!" bellowed Gobber, raising his hook hand to add emphasis. "Hiccup'll be right again soon enough!"

The noise died off until nothing but the scrabble of the dragon's claws and his low rumblings could be heard.

Stoick nodded his thanks, then turned his attention back to the teens. "Now, for the last time, what _happened_?"

Snotlout pointed at Tuffnut. "He did it."

Tuffnut blanched a bit as Stoick's hard gaze fell on him. "Uh, yes, so…I may or may not have almost killed your son with a large amount of…socks. Wait…" he paused to think. "Yeah, yeah, I'm leaning more towards the 'may' on that one. But just to clear things up, the socks were in a state of complete frozen-ness at the time of the accident, sir."

"Uh," Ruffnut cut in, raising a finger, "there might've also been a rock somewhere inside said large amount of frozen socks. Or maybe two. I can't remember."

"Oh yeah," Tuffnut confirmed. "That too."

The other Vikings stared at the twins blankly.

"What? It was windy and we had to weigh'em down somehow or they'd blow away before the trolls came to steal them."

Gobber leaned in close to Stoick's ear. "He's got a point, y'know. Trolls are tricky enough without the complication of losin' yer socks before ya even see one."

Stoick groaned, rubbing his forehead. He'd heard enough. Confused as he was about the whole situation, dealing with the twins was always more trouble than it was worth.

"Why don't we all leave now? There's a lot of damage from the storm that needs to be cleaned up. Come on, all of you. Out."

Together with Gobber, Stoick herded Fishlegs, Snotlout and the twins down the stairs and out the front door. Astrid, however, lingered a moment to take a seat on the bed next to Hiccup. Her face was taut with concern as she watched Gothi begin to smear the poultice across the lump on his forehead.

"Well, you've had a rough day," she said. "I'm glad you're ok."

"Y'know," Hiccup said after a semi-awkward pause, "you're pretty nice."

"Ummmm, thank you?" Astrid was slightly taken aback by this compliment. It wasn't one he normally used around her. Something was off.

"Hiccup?" she said, waving a hand in front of his glazed eyes. "Are…are you gonna be ok?"

"Yeah, yeah, sure…" he trailed off, tilting his head as his eyes lowered to the ground. "Hm. I just wish I could figure out what happened to my leg. I mean,"—he lifted the metal prosthetic up for her to see—"I'm not the only one seeing this, right? You see it too?"

Astrid's stomach flopped as realization hit her hard. She threw a horrified glance at Gothi, who was just as startled.

"Wait, you don't remember?"

"Mmmmmnope. Not ringing any bells. That's kind of why I asked."

Astrid stood up, eyes growing wide. "Oh no…"

"Hey, on that note, you look familiar. Do I…do I know you?"

"STOIIICK!"


	4. Part 4: Toothless the Reject

Part 4

Toothless the Reject

The Chief of Berk whipped around as Astrid burst out of the house, slipping and sliding on the ice as she sped toward him with a look of panic on her face.

"Stoick!" she gasped, skidding to a stop. "Sir, there's something wrong with Hiccup!"

"Huh, ya think?" Snotlout snorted.

"No, I mean like something _really_ wrong."

Before she could continue, the door of the Haddock house flew open once again and out wobbled Hiccup trailing a length of bandages half-way wrapped around his head and a very disgruntled Gothi behind him.

"Hey, wait up, strange-girl-who-looks-really-familiar-but-that-I'm-having-problems-connecting-a-name-with! I wasn't done asking questions!" He somehow managed to make it down the front steps and paused to stare at them all. "So…anybody wanna fill me in? Y'know, like who you all are and why everyone keeps calling me 'Hiccup'…that kind of stuff?"

Stoick's eyes widened and the bits of his face that could be seen under all the hair drained of color. He looked to Gobber, who was in a similar state of surprise, then back to Astrid.

"Is this some kind of joke?"

"Sir," she said, gravely serious, "you know Hiccup would never do anything like this as a joke."

Tuffnut raised a hand. "But I would."

Stoick ignored the comment and took a step toward his son, about to place a hand on his shoulder and steer him back into the house, when out of nowhere came a large streak of black.

"AAAGH!" Hiccup yelped as Toothless bowled him over. Fortunately, they landed in a thick snowdrift. The dragon began licking and slobbering all over the young Viking's face and growling with happiness. "DDAAAA! What—GAACK! Get it off"

It took the strength of Gobber, Stoick and all the teens to pull the Night Fury away and hold him back.

"Get him out of here," the chief commanded. Toothless protested loudly as the others began pushing him backwards, but Stoick laid a hand on his muzzle. "I know, I know. But I think it's best if you leave for now."

The dragon hung his head, and without any more resistance, he turned and trudged off through the snow with his wings drooping.

Behind them, Hiccup pushed himself up, looking terrified and shaking from head to toe. "W-what _was_ that?" he whispered.

The others gaped at him in silent shock, which Gobber was the first to break.

"Laddie, that was Toothless."

"Tooth…Toothless?"

"Yes! Don't ya remember? He's your dragon, your _friend_, for the love of Thor's lightning!"

For a few seconds, the fog in Hiccup's eyes cleared and he blinked. "My friend…" he muttered, eyebrows knitting together as some forgotten piece of information worked its way back to the surface of his mind... But the glaze was back all too soon. "Why would anybody want to be friends with a dragon? That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard."

"Ahem," came Gothi's impatient noise from the top of the stairs. She was obviously not too thrilled with the way her patient had bolted out of the room before she could finish patching him up.

Stoick bent down and pulled his son to his feet. "C'mon, Hiccup. Let's get you back inside."

…

Once Hiccup was safely returned to his room with Gothi wrapping bandages around his head, a hushed but serious discussion commenced between Gobber and Stoick down in the main room.

"Just giv'em some time, Stoick," Gobber urged, watching his best friend pace the floor. "It'll all come back to'im soon enough."

"How can you be sure? How do you know the future of Berk isn't resting in the hands of a boy who can't even remember his own name or…or the faces of those he loves?"

Gobber sighed. "I guess I don't, really. But I do know he's been through much, much worse than this and pulled through with hardly a scratch to call'is own…"

Stoick stopped pacing long enough to raise an eyebrow.

"Well, I mean _besides_ that. Point is, the lad often proves himself stronger than we think. Why should this particular knock on the head be any different?"

The chief came to a standstill and was silent for several moments before he cast a worried glance toward the stairs leading to Hiccup's room.

"Gobber, I want my son back."

…

Just outside the house, the younger Vikings were huddled in a shivering bunch and holding a meeting of their own.

"Nice going, Tuff," Snotlout spat. "Now that Hiccup's out of commission, who's gonna run the Dragon Academy?"

"Ugh," Tuffnut grunted, "C'mon, guys, it was an accident, ok?"

"Yeah, a really stupid one," said Ruffnut.

"Yes, we know it was just an accident," Astrid interrupted. "Yes, I agree it was stupid, but it was still unintentional."

"Poor Hiccup," Fishlegs said mournfully. "And poor Toothless. I just wish there was something we could do to help."

Astrid rubbed her chin "Hmm. Maybe we can come up with something. Anyone got any ideas?"

"How 'bout another whack to the head?" Snotlout suggested. "That always helps me remember stuff."

There was a dull thud as Tuffnut took the opportunity to bring his fist down hard on Snotlout's helmet while Ruffnut snickered. "Ok, what's my name?"

Snotlout growled. "Your name's 'Dragon-Butt'!"

"Okaayyyy," Astrid forced her way between them before another brawl (or another game of Sockey, for that matter) could break out. "Does anybody have any _real_ ideas?"

"Hey, mine was real," Snotlout protested.

"We are _not_ hitting Hiccup on the head again."

"What about one of Gothi's healing potions?" Fishlegs piped up. "One time my dad got sick and Gothi made him drink one."

"Did he get better?" asked Ruffnut.

"Well…yeah, but only after three days of non-stop barfing."

"Really?" the twins said together, exchanging impish grins. "Cool."

Astrid wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Yuck, no, not cool. Gross. Nobody should have to drink any of that weird stuff she makes."

"Ok," said Snotlout, "so hitting him on the head again and making him drink some of Gothi's death-juice are out. What's that leave, exactly?"

Astrid thought for a moment, and then a smile spread across her face as an idea came to her. "We could always try reintroducing him to Toothless."

"Uh, hello," Ruffnut said, rolling her eyes. "You saw what happened just barely, right? Hiccup was scared out of his mind."

"Did you see his eyes?"

Snotlout folded his arms. "I don't know about anybody else here, but I don't usually spend a whole lot of time gazing into Hiccup's eyes."

"No, no, hear me out! For a second it looked like he might actually have remembered Toothless before Stoick sent him away. I could see it in his face! If we could just get the two alone together it might come back to him."

"You could be right," Fishlegs said. "But how do we pull it off without Stoick sending Toothless away again?"

Astrid paused. She'd been too excited at the prospect of helping Hiccup regain his memory that she'd neglected to consider _how_ they would do it.

"Um…we'll come back to that. Let's go find Toothless."


	5. Part 5: To the Woods

(A/N: No, I'm not dead. I've just had the flu and, believe it or not, throwing up is not very conducive to writing fan fiction.)

Part 5

To the Woods

Toothless hadn't wandered too far from the house, and the young Vikings spotted him sulking at the top of the ice-covered steps of the Great Hall.

"C'mon," said Astrid, motioning for the others to follow.

There were more than a few mishaps during the climb—mostly the fault of the twins, who couldn't stop whacking each other—where the five of them almost went sliding all the way back to the bottom, but they eventually made it safely to the top.

Toothless looked up expectantly as they approached, then, after realizing the group was minus his favorite person, dropped his head back onto his crossed forelegs with a disappointed growl. Astrid had never seen a more dejected-looking creature. She sighed, hurrying up the last few steps to lay a hand on his head.

"I'm sorry, Toothless," she said, ignoring the escalating tussle between the twins behind her. "I can't even imagine what this must be like for you. But we're going to make it right, ok?"

"Ow!" Snotlout yelped. "Knock it off, you two! There're other people here too, y'know!"

"That wasn't me," Ruffnut protested, "that was totally Tuffnut!"

"C'mon, guys," Fishlegs tried to intervene. "Do we really have to—"

"Whatever," interrupted Snotlout, "but in my defense, you two look the same from behind."

"Uh, that's because we're twins, genius," Ruffnut growled.

"Yeah, but your butt's bigger than mine—OOF!" Tuffnut started, but his sister's fist caught him full in the stomach, sending him backwards into Snotlout.

"WAAHH!" Snotlout's feet went out from under him, making him the unfortunate recipient of a free trip down the stairs. It was fast, but not exactly smooth and definitely not graceful.

Toothless and the other Vikings winced as he bounced off the last step and skidded to a stop face-down on the solid sheet of ice at the bottom.

"Wow," said Tuffnut after a moment. "We should try that sometime."

"Ha, yeah," Ruffnut agreed.

"I'm okaayyy," came Snotlout's muffled call.

Toothless huffed through his nostrils in irritation, then lowered his head and resumed staring off into the woods beyond.

Astrid was about to roll her eyes, but instead grinned as a thought occurred to her. "Hm, the forest…" she mumbled. "And the ice… Guys, I think I have a plan. Don't move, Snotlout!"

"Um…right, ok, no problem. I'll just…I'll just stay here and chill for a while. Ahaha! Chill! Get it?"

"Ugh, why did Hiccup have to be the one to lose his memory?" Fishlegs muttered to no one in particular.

…

With some encouragement and a fair amount of badgering from Gobber, Stoick was finally convinced to leave his son under the care of Gothi and start tending to the cleanup efforts around Berk. The two of them had just exited the Haddock house and were about to make a right into the main part of the village when a breathless, red-faced Fishlegs came dashing up to them as fast as his little legs could take him through the ice and snow.

"Sir, wait! There's been another accident!"

Stoick sent Gobber a worried look. "Another…? Who? And where?"

"It's Snotlout!" Fishlegs gasped, hopping up and down in distress. "He slipped on the ice and fell down the stairs of the Great Hall!"

"Why does that not surprise me?" Gobber mumbled.

Fishlegs turned and began rushing back the way he came. "Hurry! It doesn't look good!"

"Go get Gothi," Stoick ordered Gobber before following Fishlegs.

…

Astrid and Toothless waited silently just behind the Haddock house until they were sure Gobber and Gothi were well on their way to the "accident" by the Great Hall. Then she turned to the dragon.

"Ok, Toothless," she said, taking his wide face in her hands so she could look him right in his big green eyes, "I need you to go wait in the woods. I'm going to bring Hiccup to you—"

Before she could say anything else, Toothless reared up on his hind legs and tail and let out a happy howl.

"Shh! Calm down! You have to be quiet or this won't work."

Seeming to understand, Toothless came back down on all-fours, ears twitching and eyes sliding from side to side as if on the lookout for anyone who might have apprehended them.

"Alright, like I said, I'm going to bring Hiccup to you in the forest, but you can't jump on him like you did before. It'll only make things worse. Got it?"

The dragon rumbled his approval of the plot and was about to head for the woods, but Astrid touched his shoulder right before he turned, bringing him to a standstill.

"Just a second, you might need this." She held out a large fish, which was instantly snatched and gobbled down whole.

Toothless gave a soft burble of thanks, and was on his way. Astrid watched him plow through the snow for a few seconds, then made her way around to the front door and slipped inside.

…

Stoick could hear the screaming long before they reached the steps to the Great Hall and it only increased once Snotlout saw that help was on the way.

"Oh the agony! Oh the paaaain!" he wailed. He was curled in on himself and rolling around on the ground as the twins looked on.

Partly concerned and partly annoyed, Stoick knelt beside him. "Can you tell me what hurts?"

"EVERYTHING! My head, my stomach, my thighs, my…elbow…"

The chief cast a suspicious glance in the direction of the twins.

Tuffnut backed up, shaking his hands out in front of him. "No way! It wasn't me, this time...well, not directly."

Stoick was about to question him further, but was interrupted as Gobber and Gothi came hurrying onto the scene. The village elder immediately crouched beside the howling Snotlout and began looking him over.

"AAAGH, don't touch me, I'm dying! Someone go get Hookfang. I want to see his beautiful, majestic face one last time before I go to Valhalla."

Ruffnut snorted. "Heh, are you sure you're going to Valhalla and not to—"

Snotlout was genuinely insulted. "Shut up! Of course I'm going to Valhalla! That's where all the greatest warriors go when they die."

"Can I have your dragon when you're dead?" Tuffnut chimed in.

"No! He's _my_ dragon and I need him to guard my funeral pyre—"

"Stop, all of you! Nobody's going to Valhalla today!" Stoick burst out, bringing silence down on the group like a blow of Thor's hammer. "Of all the impossible things I have to deal with today…" he trailed off rubbing his forehead. "Gothi, can you help him?"

Gothi stood up, looking perplexed as she gave the chief a shake of her grey head and a shrug of her shoulders. This was more than a little worrying.

"You…you can't?"

"I knew it!" Snotlout cried. "This is it! Farewell my loyal friends! Remember me as I was: brave and free and glorious."

"More like ridiculous," Fishlegs put in.

Gothi merely rolled her eyes and began to scratch a series of runes and squiggly lines in the snow at their feet with her staff.

"What's she saying?" Stoick asked.

Gobber eyed the elder's drawings carefully through squinted eyes. "Hm. She says…he's lying. Huh, well no surprise there."

Snotlout looked up at Fishlegs and the twins, not sure what to do. Regardless of the extensive theatrics, the ruse had been discovered much sooner than anyone had anticipated. Astrid needed more time.

Fishlegs jumped in with a hasty suggestion. "Uhhh, maybe you should check him again, Gothi. You might've missed something."

Snotlout looked at him blankly and it was only after a sharp kick in the behind from each of the twins that he got the hint.

"OWW! I mean OHHH! I'm in some major pain! Yes, I think I need to be checked again…maybe like three more times because…because my insides feel like they were torn into pieces and then those pieces were set on fire and—"

"Get up, laddie!" Gobber cut in, reaching down hauling him upright by the front of his tunic. "There's nothin' wrong with ya, now stop screaming."

Gothi thought for a moment, then scratched something else into the snow. Judging from the wicked grin making its way across Gobber's face, it couldn't be good.

"Ah-ha-_haaa_!" he snickered. "Not to worry, lad. She says one of'er potions should fix ya right up."

"Praise Odin, it's a miracle!" Snotlout shouted after a stunned moment of silence, raising his hands above his head. "I'm well again! Look, I'm standing up and I've never felt better!"

Fishlegs rolled his eyes. "So much for that plan."

…

"Hiccup?" Astrid called softly once she was through the door. "Hello?"

"Up here." The reply came from Hiccup's room, so Astrid quickly climbed the stairs.

At the top, she found him with his head now wrapped in bandages, sitting cross-legged on his bed and holding a piece of paper and a charcoal pencil. Astrid watched him for a moment as he scribbled something down, then rubbed it out with the heel of his hand in frustration.

She came a little closer. There on the page was a smudged sketch of a dragon. _Hiccup's_ dragon. Toothless. It was unusually sloppy and disproportionate for one of Hiccup's drawings, but unmistakable nonetheless.

"What're you doing?"

"I don't know." Hiccup sighed, throwing the paper into the air and watching it float to the floor. "I can't stop thinking about that dragon and it's really bothering me. I recognize him from somewhere, especially those eyes, but…everything's so blurry and weird right now. I just can't think straight."

Now was her chance. "Listen, you said you had more questions to ask me…"

Hiccup's eyes flicked up at her. "Is that why you came back?"

"Yes. I need you to come with me." She extended a hand, but he didn't move.

"Hey, uh…look, I'd love to, but I don't really know you…"

"Please, Hiccup, you have to trust me. I'll explain everything to you. The dragon, your leg, who you are, everything."

Finally, the prospect of getting some answers was too much and Hiccup took her hand, allowing her to pull him to his feet.

Astrid wasted no time in tugging him along down the stairs and out the door.

"So, where're you taking me…exactly?" Hiccup asked once they were outside.

Astrid smiled. "To the woods."


	6. Part 6: Fish in the Face

Part 6

Fish in the Face

Hiccup struggled along through the snow behind the mysterious blond girl. She had a seriously strong grip on his hand and was showing no signs of letting go anytime soon.

"Wouldn't it have been easier…a-and _warmer_ to stay in the house and talk?" he huffed as they scrambled over a snow-covered boulder. "I mean, not that I don't enjoy a nice, brisk run through freezing temperatures, I just don't see why you had to drag me out here."

"Like I said," the girl replied over her shoulder, "you have to trust me."

Hiccup was beginning to think that decision was probably not the best. But he had no choice. It was either stay in that room in a forgetful haze or follow her and maybe get an answer or two, even if it meant frost-bitten extremities.

"Hey, uh…"

"What now?"

"Are we there yet?

"Really?"

"Yeah, well it's kinda cold and I would prefer to keep the rest of my body…parts…intact..." His words faded out as the girl slowed to a standstill and dropped his hand. A strange, paralyzing fear welled up in his throat at the sight before them, choking off his breath. They were in a small clearing, but they weren't alone. The dragon, the one that had jumped on him back in the village, the one who'd been the subject of his sketches earlier, was standing fifteen feet away.

With a soft growl, the beast lifted its head, greenish eyes seeming to bore into him.

"Hiccup…" prompted the girl, "it's ok. He won't hurt you."

"W-what happened to answering my questions?"

The dragon took a cautious step forward, causing Hiccup to take a giant leap backwards. "Uummm, ok, I think that's enough Q and A for now, gotta run!"

The girl snagged him by an arm just as he whirled around to bolt back to the safety of the village.

"Wait! You can't go!"

"Aaaand why not?" Hiccup tried to wriggle out of her grasp, but it was no use. He wasn't going anywhere.

"Listen to me! This is _your _dragon and his name is 'Toothless'."

Hiccup thought for a minute. "Yeah, that other guy already told me that and I've got nothing. Now let go!"

"No! I'm telling you, this dragon is your friend! Try to remember, Hiccup. You found him here in the woods and you helped him learn to fly again. You _trained_ him."

"_T-trained_ him? What is it with you people and training dragons? That's the stupidest thing I've ever—would you stop with the arm-tugging thing already—OW!"

Hiccup found himself suddenly jerked back and spun around to face the dragon, who, incidentally, had been inching closer and closer the entire time. There was a minor tussle as Hiccup attempted to resist the girl's shoving and stay as far away from the animal as possible.

"Are you crazy?! That thing probably wants to eat me!"

"Oh for the love…he doesn't want to eat you," she grunted, finally managing to force him forward a bit. She was surprisingly strong and solid for her size, and despite his best efforts, Hiccup couldn't throw her off balance enough to escape. "Toothless is your friend. You said yourself he seemed familiar. Now stop struggling and take a _look_ at him!"

Somehow, Hiccup couldn't help but do as he was told. Those gigantic dragon eyes, now a mere two feet away from him, seized his gaze and held it fast. Not once did they blink and the young Viking went rigid, hypnotized by the sudden rush of disjointed memories.

_A new tailfin…dragon nip…wind under wings…_

"I…" Hiccup mumbled, taking a hesitant step closer and reaching out a hand. "I know you…"

_Drawings in the dirt…fish…no teeth…a secret cove…_

His hand came to rest on the dragon's wide snout. The scaly feel of it was familiar under his fingers.

"T-Tooth…Toothless?" Hiccup's eyes widened, a smile pulling up one side of his mouth. His eyes were clear as he threw his arms around the dragon's neck. "Hey, bud!"

With a happy howl, Toothless knocked him over into the snow, snorting and slobbering everywhere.

"Easy bud! Watch the head—oh great."

The dragon was making a terrible retching noise deep in his throat. With a mighty heave, Toothless brought up a large half of a fish and let it fall out of his mouth to land with a splat on Hiccup's face.

Astrid snorted as Hiccup sat up and removed the mushy present.

"Eheh…thanks, bud," he said, wiping some of the slime from his face. "It's exactly what I always wanted."

Toothless sat back, looking pleased with himself as Astrid helped Hiccup to his feet and punched him in the arm.

"Oww, seriously? Why do you always have to—"

"Don't ever do that again, ok?" Astrid said, then her face softened and she wrapped him up in a tight hug. "I knew you'd remember," she said into his ear. "I knew it! Hiccup, I'm so glad you're all right."

"What's going on here?" a voice boomed from behind them.

The two separated hastily, faces reddening a little as Stoick, Gobber and the other teens came into the clearing.

"Ooh," sang Tuffnut as Snotlout and Ruffnut snickered beside him. "Looky-looky. Love in the wilderness."

"Shut up, Tuffnut," growled Astrid.

"Sorry," Fishlegs called. "We stalled as long as we could! Honest!"

"_What_ is the meaning of all this?" Stoick demanded again.

"Sir, I can explain…" Astrid started.

Stoick separated himself from the group, bearing down on the two young Vikings in question. "Hiccup should be at home resting! And I thought I said to keep that dragon away—"

"Dad," Hiccup said, coming forward, "everything's ok."

The burly chief stopped in his tracks, blinking at his son for a moment before a single tear slid down his face.

"What…what did you just say?"

"I said everything's ok. Astrid was only trying to—HGGHCK!"

"It's you, son." The rest of Hiccup's sentence was lost as his father threw his arms around him, engulfing him in a crushing embrace. "It's really you. You've come back to me."


End file.
